Blood Princess
by Celeste Lunistaria
Summary: A peculiar young woman has been sought out by the Akatsuki for her skills and special powers. She's a ninja-vampire (sort-of), and is now teaming up with the most infamous ninja group around. Everything ensues, hilarity, romance, bad-assery, plot twists, tragedy, and lemony goodness. Guarunteed to be as long and good, if not better than any paranormal romance book, but with ninjas!
1. Chapter 1

Greetings everyone! It is currently 3am and I have sooooo much homework, but this little beauty popped into my head and demanded to be put down on paper. I ended up writing waaaaaayyy more than I had planned but I'm glad I did as the detail is much better. I realize that there are several little descriptions/key plot development thingies that are not fully explained here, but patience, they shall come in time, unless I didn't notice in which case let me know. I'm totally open to comments good and bad (be constructive though) and suggestions. I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors (I didn't really proofread, hehehehe). Also I'm sure I don't need to say this but to ensure my ass doesn't get sued, cause we all know *I'm making buttloads of of money for this* _said with heavy sarcasm._

I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM OWN ANY PART OF NARUTO OR ANY OF THE OTHER VARIOUS BOOKS, MANGA, ANIME, TV SHOWS, AND/OR MOVIES THAT I STOLE INSPIRATION AND STORY FROM. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

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Chapter 1

The petite woman stood at the top of a cliff overlooking the valley and the small village it contained. It was a civilian village, which would make her ninja garb stand out, not that anyone would see her at nearly three in the morning as it was now. She was dressed in a blood red Kimono robe which came down to mid-thigh and was decorated with light, lavender colored lily embroidery. The long loose sleeves came precisely to the tips of her outstretched fingers allowing for the storage of various weapons, cleverly concealed and easy to reach without allowing anyone to see. Beneath the robe she wore a mesh tank top covered by a black halter top to cover her chest, and black elbow guards. She wore tight but flexible black pants allowing for optimum movement with maximum coverage and matte black knee high boots that were well worn allowing for full movement of her ankles. She was quite proud of her attire having designed it herself, everything was reinforced for protection, and while extremely practical, it was also very stylish.

As she continued to scope out the village, checking for any signs of danger, the light breeze blew her silken hair in tickling wisps across her face. Her hair was platinum white with streaks of light pastel blue and all natural. She had styled it into twin buns to keep it out of her way but some strands had worked their way down. The face which the hair caressed was like porcelain, smooth, without the scars characteristic of her profession. It was as white as milk and without the light blush to her cheeks and her obvious youth; observers might think she was an ethereal ghost or spirit. Her eyes were large and green, though her natural color was a royal purple that radiated light; she wore contacts to hide the light and unusual shade of her eyes. The young woman had a delicate button nose that turned up ever so slightly and fit her face perfectly. Her lips were rosy and plump; her teeth white, straight, and pointed. Her canines were any way sharp, thin, and a little over a centimeter long. She was a vampire, sort of.

Suddenly she heard the sound of the village's clock tower strike three and she began to make her way to the spot she was meeting her next potential client. She had worked as a hired assassin since she was ten, the first time anyone decided she was worth paying, and she had made it a point to build a reputation ever since, and she had. She never missed a kill and was now strong enough to challenge even the infamous Akatsuki's customer base. She smirked as she reminisced, along the way she had planned to join Akatsuki or another group, but had decided on laying low after she learned she could stand her own ground.

The woman shook her head, it was time to put on her emotionless façade, she needed to be serious, if the client didn't see her as such she could lose this job. Not that she needed the money, years of working as a high level assassin without too much spending had left her buckets of money. But she needed something to do, and a way to gather blood without suspicion.

As she neared the agreed upon meeting place she, stopped in the bell tower where she could get a good view and double check it wasn't a set up, she saw a man, just a bit taller than six feet, with black hair, and black cloak covering him from the neck down. He had his back to her and after sweeping the area she felt no chakra. She would have smirked in satisfaction had she not already installed her emotionless mask that she used for business and combat, which, she thought, did make up most of her human interaction. She leapt down from her perch onto a nearby rooftop with practiced ease and silence. Running, she hopped from rooftop to rooftop, without a sound finally landing five feet behind the man before clearing her throat to get his attention. When he turned, she could see nothing but his forehead and eyes, the rest of his face being covered up by the high fastened collar of his cloak. The eyes were a deep inky black, and his skin nearly as pale porcelain as her own.

"Greetings, I am known as Yuri, I have received your summons, what business do you have with me?" She began, with her soft feminine voice, giving a slight bow.

"Greetings," the man responded, his voice low and reverberating "I am afraid this meeting will be different then what you have been led to expect." The request she had received by letter, was for an assassination with details and payment to be given here in person before the mission. She straightened from her bow, but said nothing merely implored the man to explain with her eyes.

"I am Itachi Uchiha, I have been sent to extend an invitation to the Akatsuki." He answered her gaze.

"And, should I refuse this invitation?" She asked, knowing the answer but hoping to reveal the location of Uchiha's partner. She knew that the Akatsuki always traveled in pairs but she had yet to sniff out his partner's chakra.

"Force." He answered simply. Her plan worked, the mention of some action drew an excited but small burst of chakra from the hidden ninja. The slip was so small very few others without her chakra sense would be able to catch it. She kept her face blank.

"I'll go on one condition," she stated, without a hint of emotion, "I get a private conference with Pein before any decisions are made."

"Fine." He stated without a hint of emotion. Quickly, then obviously surprising the Uchiha, though his face didn't show a thing to anyone less perceptive than her, she turned facing the precise direction in which, Kisame, Itachi's partner, was hidden.

"You should work on hiding your chakra!" The woman spoke loudly and matter-of-factly. The large shark man didn't move.

"Don't make me come get you to prove a point!" She shouted, finally releasing some angry emotion into her voice, she had dropped the façade, knowing that if she joined the organization she would have to, or go insane from trying to keep it up.

"Kisame." Itachi said simply. The blue tinged man towered over her five foot two inch frame. He had to be at least seven feet tall, to her quick estimation. He stepped out of the brush a large smile revealing his pointy teeth, looking down and the small woman. She held her ground despite his intimidating size.

"Guess you know my name now." He chuckled.

"I already knew it." She replied, a sly smile barely curving her lips. Kisame gave away his blatant surprise in every feature.

"You are in the bingo book you know." She spoke flatly, answering the question he was obviously about to pose.

"What, did you memorize it?" He scoffed back, bantering.

"Yes actually," she replied softly, suddenly finding her toes rather interesting, realizing how weird that was. 'I need to get more friends' she thought absently. Then to cover her brief show of meekness she snapped her gaze up making direct eye contact and firing the information engraved in her memory. "Hoshigaki Kisame also known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist. Height: 7ft. 1in. Weight: 220. Distinguishing features: Dark blue/black hair, eyes like a shark, light blue/gray skin markings resembling gills on cheeks. Description: S-rank missing-nin from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, current wielder of the chakra stealing sword Samehada, known member of the Akatsuki.

Ninjutsu: 4.5/5

Taijutsu: 4.5/5

Genjutsu: 2.5/5

Intelligence: 3.5/5

Strength: 5/5

Speed: 4/5

Stamina: 5/5

Handseals: 3.5/5

Total: 32.5/40" She finished, taking in a breath. Kisame stood motionless and silent for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"Is that what they really say about me?!" In answer the woman pulled out a battered copy of the bingo book from an inner pocket of her kimono, quickly flipping to the correct page before handing it to Kisame. He took it in his large hand scanning the section titled with his name before guffawing some more.

"I didn't know I had such a big fan." He commented still laughing. She knew he was only doing it to get a rise out of her, but she still wasn't about to leave him with that impression, joking or not.

"I am not your fan." she responded quickly with irritation evident in her voice. "As I already told you I memorized the entire bingo book."

"Then tell me his entry." Kisame challenged, amusement laced in his deep gruff voice as he pointed to Itachi. She had nearly forgotten about the man, she had been aware of his presence but since it wasn't a threat at the moment, she had just focused on her conversation. She glanced back for a moment; he had turned his robe right side out revealing the red clouds symbolizing Akatsuki, previously hidden to keep her from leaving at their sight, no doubt. She looked up to his now visible face; the collar now unfastened allowing her an uninterrupted view, and what a view it was. His skin was flawless aside from the two deep lines on either side of his nose 'Tear ducts maybe? Sleep deprivation? Scars?' she pondered. Whatever they were he made them work for him, he was gorgeous. From the long dark lashes surrounding his deep eyes, to his straight noble nose, his high cheekbones, his thin yet perfectly shaped lips. Without his masculine jaw line and scent he could be easily mistaken for a woman. That scent, what a scent, she had an excellent sense of smell from her, enhanced, vampiric, abilities. This man smelt like no other, sweet yet sharp at the same time, he had a masculine musk about him but also smelt clean and very distinctly of cloves. 'Snap out of it!' She reminded herself and forced her eyes to meet Kisame's again. She had only been distracted for a mere moment, but it was a moment too long in her book. She took a quick breath of air this time before beginning:

"Uchiha Itachi otherwise known as—"

"I know who I am, Yuri-san" Itachi cut her off. She didn't blame him, she knew what was in the description, about him murdering his entire clan, he probably didn't want to hear about it again. At least she hoped 'If he doesn't feel any remorse for such a horrible deed, that's one less person to put on my to-befriend list.' She decided instead to just change the topic.

"My name isn't Yuri," she responded to his terse statement nonchalantly. "It's just what the bingo book has me listed as since they don't have my real name on their records. My real name is Sukarettoi Akane. You can just call me Akane though."

"Well you're going down as Shorty in my book" Kisame said smirking.

"Whatever fish-face!" She retorted, hoping he hadn't caught the tightening of her muscles and her clenching jaw. She hated being called short.

"Eh, have a little height issue do we, Shorty" He responded with a sly grin on his face, apparently he hadn't missed it.

"Say it one more fucking time!" She growled, a kunai seemed to appear in her hand, though she had merely grabbed it from her sleeve, she bared her teeth.

"Whoa, she's got a mouth!" Kisame chuckled, clearly enjoying her reaction. Then he paused and examined her face closely. 'Shit' was the only word that came to her mind. "And teeth." He added, puzzled. Akane decided to play it off as nonchalantly as possible.

"No shit Sherlock." she said sarcastically. Hoping the profanity would cause more laughter and distract him, though it wasn't very hard. Grow up going undercover in various disreputable places and you'll pick up a colorful vocabulary. Kisame did laugh but was not dissuaded.

"Yeah but they're pointy like—"

"Look who's talking" She cut him off before he could say the inevitable.

"We need to leave now." A male monotone cut them both off. Both Kisame and Akane turned to see Itachi staring at them with a blank face but irritation evident in his eyes. Kisame shut up to Akane's relief and Itachi turned, beginning to walk east.

"Where are we going?" Akane asked. The Akatsuki had multiple bases spread far and near so their destination was a mystery.

"The main base, for your initiation" Kisame replied, somewhat quieter now, but with a lighter tone. Now knowing the destination, she followed Itachi with Kisame on her right side. She had the nagging suspicion she was forgetting something, a familiar weight was missing from an inner pocket in her kimono around the chest 'my bingo book' her head swung to Kisame who was flipping through the pages. They had picked up speed now, out of the village but Kisame was focusing on the book with practiced ease.

"Hey, give that back." She said like a child, she tried not to do that, her height was enough she didn't need any other childlike characteristics. She reached out for the book but he used his height to his advantage, pulling it up out of reach.

"I'm just looking for your entry." He responded, as she'd imagined, like someone would to a child. She pouted, immediately noticing that it counted as yet another point towards her child-likeness. 'I'm on a roll today' she thought sarcastically.

"Are you taking notes on people too?" he asked tauntingly, but with a bit of incredulity as well. Akane decided not to take the bait this time and simply replied.

"The bingo book does run off of a lot of rumors so if I run into anyone in person I make a point to write down any corrections. Also if I've had any dealings with them, favors and the like, sparring, fighting style." She trailed off. Kisame continued to flip the pages until he came to her listing.

"Yuri also known as Shi no Hana (Flower of Death)" he glanced at her as if to ask if he had the right section. Reluctantly she nodded with a cringe, 'why did they choose such a cheesy name!?' she groaned internally. Kisame continued reading aloud as she had, "Height approximately: 5ft—"

"And two inches" she whispered under her breath. Kisame almost choked on his laughter before he managed to regain his composure enough to read on.

"Weight: approximately 95lbs. Distinguishing features: White hair with blue tinges though notably young, pale white skin. Description: Very little is known about this all too real yet seemingly mythical assassin. Requests can be written and left at a statue of a woman holding a lily just outside the village of Chinoame. The requests are always answered, provided payment is arranged, and no known targets have lived to tell of her deeds. The only those who have hired and met with her, know anything about her, the accounts are varied. Score unavailable due to lack of information. It is rumored that she is extremely powerful, certainly her customer base, the only one known to rival that of the infamous Akatsuki, speaks to this claim." Kisame shut the book, he wasn't laughing now. Akane leapt up and snatched the book from his loose grip, quickly putting it back in her kimono before he could attempt to snatch it back.

"So you're pretty good, aren't ya?" He asked in a jeering tone. His eyes however shone with a lust for power, to test her abilities, to be pushed to the limits.

"You don't know." She stated matter-of-factly. "You don't know, they don't know, only people I want to know do. So don't push it, Sharky." She added the last bit to tease him a bit in order to lift the pressure in the air that she felt from his challenge. He chuckled, showing he wasn't entirely serious, but she could tell he hadn't completely dropped the topic.

Akane shifted her focus then from, Kisame to their surroundings, she didn't know the area, but it was fairly nice. A mild climate, earth beneath their feet with dense forests sprinkled in clumps here and there. She could tell that for most it would be a perfect temperature but she always ran a bit cold so she was grateful for the quick pace generating heat in her body. She looked ahead and saw they were coming up to a thickly forested area which didn't seem to be just a clump; they would have to fly through the trees soon. She smiled she always enjoyed that , there was something exhilarating, flying through the intricate mazes that were never the same, feeling the wind rush by her cheeks as she pushed herself to go faster and faster. She nearly giggled as they leapt into the foliage, making their way through the branches at a decent height. As she leapt from tree to tree she observed her newfound companions. Kisame made his way through the trees with skill despite his size; he was forced to stick to the strongest branches though. She had a keen advantage in this setting as she was able to choose most any branch due to her petite figure and light weight. She looked over at Itachi; he flew through the trees with obvious efficiency, but also with a natural grace that spoke of both training and breeding. After she nearly ran into a branch observing the Uchiha, she focused on the puzzle of branches more intently 'is it getting thicker?' She thought, 'we must be close.' She was right, not ten minutes later, they were in a clearing of grass near a large mountain. She gazed at the face of the rock perplexed 'I didn't even see it coming, must be a really strong genjutsu' she deduced to herself.

"Welcome." A man's deep voice said. Akane turned to face the direction in which the voice had come, her stony façade now in place. First she missed a genjutsu covering a fucking mountain, now the presence of a man, not just his chakra, but his sound, his scent, even the movement of the wind when he moved. She was not on her guard as she should be, and she did not intend to let it continue. Her calculating eyes took in the man's appearance, bright orange hair, skin pale, but slightly darker than her own, as most people's are, and piercings, so many piercings. Piercings down the bridge of his nose, all along the edge of both ears, piercings on his lower lip making it look like he had black fangs poking through his skin. 'Oh, god I hope, he isn't one of those deluded vampire fanatics that thinks I'll turn him into one.' she groaned internally, but let nothing cross her face.

"I am Pein, Welcome to the Akatsuki" he continued, putting authority even into a welcome. 'Well I guess shit just got real then.' Akane thought 'Time to lay down the rules.'


	2. Chapter 2

Well, it's only 9:20pm this time, though I'm still using this to put off my homework and will probably begin working on the thrid chapter to further delay the inevitable. I'm happy my story idea didn't die in a firey pit of 'I was very enthusiastic at the beginning but now...'ness in fact I actually have a bit of a plan going for this one. I'd have to say this chapter isn't super exciting but the next one is going to be EPIC, however set up is required and thus, this chapter may be a bit slow. Also I promise to start bringing in the Itachiness next chapter so stay tuned XD. Also the main descriptor of the "Vampire, sort of" concept is described here, let me know if you understand it, not sure if I was crystal clear on that part. And just in case:

I DON'T OWN ANY PART OF NARUTO, OR ANY OTHER OR THE ANIME/MANGA, BOOKS, MOVIES, OR TV SHOWS I STOLE INSPIRATION OR DIRECT CHARACTERS FROM, I'M POOR, DON'T SUE ME.

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"_I am Pein, Welcome to the Akatsuki" he continued, putting authority even into his welcome. 'Well I guess shit just got real then.' Akane thought 'Time to lay down the rules.'_

Chapter 2

"Before any decisions are made, I require a private conference as I have several conditions to set." Akane proclaimed her voice nearly as monotone and blank as her face, but with an underlying tinge of authority to ensure Pein knew she was serious.

"I am not above compromise." He responded. He was being suspiciously reasonable for a man who was known throughout the lands as unmovable towards his goals. Her suspicions were confirmed as she sensed the quickened pace of Kisame's heart and breathing. He was a few feet away but she could sense most things if she sought them out, and this was an answer to a question she left unspoken, 'is he usually this reasonable, or does he just have something he wants?' Kisame's reaction led her to believe the latter. She said nothing, merely followed Pein as he turned toward an entrance into the foreboding mountain. It was covered with a heavy genjutsu, but she noticed it as soon as she decided she needed to be on her toes around Pein and the Akatsuki. The Orange haired leader led her down a winding, dimly lit hall, for several minutes. 'Damn this place is huge!' she noted internally just as they finally stopped at a door as tall as Kisame. Pein opened the door and held it open for her. Akane strode in with her naturally perfect posture, being careful to show not a glimpse of unease at turning her back to such a dangerous man. It was partially from living on her own for so long, always having to watch her own back and partially due to a ninja's natural distaste of leaving themselves unguarded. Turning one's back was a sign of trust that left a person wide open for betrayal. Before he closed the door, Pein whispered to Itachi and Kisame who had followed them up to this point. Pein was so quiet; even she couldn't hear him, which was saying something. She could make a good guess though 'probably block the exits or prime the booby traps.' She would have scoffed out loud if her façade wasn't up in full force. The room was small and plain with a conference table just wide enough to keep a comfortable space between its occupants but not so much that they would have to raise their voices to hear each other. As Pein closed the door she took a seat, relaxing in it as if she owned the place, her left leg crossed over her right knee, arms relaxed on those of the chairs. She made the simple wooden thing look like a thrown and her aura radiated control.

"Why have you sought me out?" Akane inquired flatly. Pein only raised a thin orange brow as if to say, _isn't it obvious? _ However, Akane didn't speak, prompting to respond to question.

"Many reasons, you're well known as a legendary assassin, you really do rival our customer base, and most importantly you we're part of the Akumanochi clan, the last one to wield their power." He finished with finality. She kept her mask on, but struggled with the astonishment that this man knew her clan, a clan that was completely obliterated nine years ago. She had tried in every way to hide to hide her existence as it would inevitably lead to her death, but she had apparently failed. At her silence Pein continued, "I realize this must be a shock to you, but I assure you I haven't let your existence leak, nor will I, provided you follow my conditions." 'Is he blackmailing me?!' Akane thought, white fury rushing through her veins. She had come here to set her conditions, and she wasn't going to have it any other way.

"Is that so?" She asked casually, as if this was the most useless waste of time she could think of. "I too have some conditions, so lay yours out, we may need to compromise," she leached every bit of icy intimidation she could muster into her last five words, making it sound more like 'go ahead and fucking try to use that info against me, I will _never_ give in to your rule.' Pein didn't flinch but instead began with a monotone voice:

"1.) You will join the Akatsuki and follow our rules. 2.) You will reveal all of your power's and skills to myself and the other members. 3.) You shall be on active duty and complete all missions assigned to you. 4.) You will participate in all group bonding activities." Pein ended with silence. Akane wondered what 'group bonding activities' entailed, but decided it didn't really matter. She would follow as many rules as she decided were reasonable. After all Akatsuki asked her to join, not the other way around. Her secret was bound to come out at some point anyway and she'd rather die than submit to this pierced punk. Besides it was her turn to make demands:

"1.) I will have no partner. 2.) I will have my own living quarters. 3.) You will assign me nighttime missions as much as possible. 4.) I will be allowed to drink the blood of assassinated victims. 5.) I will follow as many of the rules as I deem reasonable but I will do so on a case by case basis." She ended with confidence and finality in her voice looking to Pein for confirmation of her conditions.

"Unfortunately all Akatsuki must have partners for reasons too numerous to list, however I will let you try them all out and choose your partner. We have already prepared a single room for you with a private bathroom. Most missions we do are at nighttime though I will take into consideration your request when I assign your missions. I don't care what you do with the bodies provided you bring back any parts the mission requires. If you have an issue with a rule appeal to me first, but I have the ultimate decision in this" Pein replied with an almost exasperated tone in his voice. However, on his last response he let his chakra seep out and fill the room, displaying his power. Akane had to admit it was sinister, powerful, and at the moment, oppressive and stifling. Rather than letting her chakra challenge his in the same manner she allowed hers to form a thin but powerful veil over herself, protecting her from his chakra, without revealing the strength of her own. The act was partly in defiance and partly for strategy as she still hadn't officially agreed to the conditions.

"Alright it's a deal." Akane said, extending her hand. However before extending his, Pein scraped his palm against one of the pointy piercings protruding from his lip, creating a shallow but bloody gash along its surface. 'So he knows the customs of my clan' she thought, then she withdrew her hand to cut her own palm on her right fang before grasping Pein's dripping appendage. In her clan this was the mark of an unbreakable promise. There was a solemn silence for a few seconds, interrupted only by the slow dripping of thick crimson liquid on the table. Then she withdrew her hand and healed the scratch almost automatically. Pein raised his eyebrows at the glow of chakra from her palm.

"You can heal." He said it as more of a statement than a question, but now that the deal was made, Akane gifted him with a response.

"I'm full of surprises," her mask was now gone, though she was still on her guard, and she allowed a small sly smirk to escape as she shrugged. Then she stood, "Now where's that room you promised me?" She all but yawned as she stretched her arms above her head. Pein didn't answer for a moment, probably due to her abrupt switch from practically emotionless to seemingly unguarded and, dare he say it, even more casual than before. He too arose and opened the door.

"Kisame, Itachi." He stated, firmly but at a regular volume. However the two materialized as if he had screamed for them. "Take Akane to her quarters and show her the commons please." He stated simply. Then, turning to Akane he said, "Your initiation will begin tomorrow at one in the afternoon so please be in the commons at noon to be briefed." With that the mysterious and intimidating man exited the room going left down the corridor, the way they had entered, and disappeared into the darkness.

Akane was more than a little peeved that he had addressed her by her first name, without a suffix and without her permission. Since he had done the same to Itachi and Kisame she assumed that he did it to all his subordinates 'ugh, I'm beneath that guy!' she groaned inwardly. She didn't like him, he had that whole 'I'm the most powerful being on this planet, all bow to me' aura going on which instinctively pissed her off. She was awakened from her internal fuming by Kisame:

"So we're on the same team now, eh Shorty." He chuckled. She swore the man had an eternal chuckle in his voice. She rolled her eyes and sent him a halfhearted glare.

"Whatever, just show me my room." Akane was tired, though the halls they began to walk through had no windows, she could tell it was nearly dawn. She operated nocturnally mainly because the sun irritated her skin and also due to most of her missions taking place at night anyway. She didn't fancy the sunlight.

Kisame and Itachi first showed her the commons room which was remarkably normal in comparison to the dark stone hallways. There was a large carpeted living area with a huge black leather couch that created an angled semi-circle around a massive flat screen TV. Opposite the living room was a large, white, tiled, kitchen complete with a dining area hosting a black rectangular table that could fit twelve with ease. They had entered through one of four doors in the massive space, this one facing a door directly across from it. Both of the doors straddled the divide between the living area and the combination kitchen/dining room. The dining area was closest on their left. After she had seen the room they turned right, walking through the living area and to a door on the wall perpendicular to the last one they went through. This led to another hall with doors spaced evenly on either side.

"We consider rooms as personal area's so don't go sneaking about. Most of us don't take kindly to intruders and many have traps or seals to prevent unwelcome visits" Kisame said out of the blue, his voice still holding amusement though there wasn't anything funny. They stopped at the third door on the right; the rooms were staggered so there wasn't a door directly across the hallway from her own. The door was as all the doors she had noticed thus far, as tall as Kisame, she wondered if it was done on purpose for him or just a coincidence. There was no key; against ninja of Akatsuki's caliber it would do no good, Akane made a mental note to seal the door immediately. She grasped the handle which turned with well maintained ease, and pushed the door open to reveal a plain room about ten feet in both directions. The room contained a full-sized bed pushed against the far right corner, opposite the entrance, one night stand with a lamp to the left of the bed, and a large trunk at the base of the bed. There was a desk pressed against the far left corner with a chair whose back faced her and the doorway. On the right wall in the corner nearest the hall was another door which she suspected led to the bathroom, she could only see the door by peering around the large wardrobe with its back against the wall containing the entrance in which she currently stood.

"Our room is the next over on the same side of the hall, if you need anything," Kisame added kindly, pointing towards the room which was further down the passage than Akane's

"Hn," Itachi added as if approving Kisame's gesture. Kisame was the more talkative though it was clearly the Uchiha in charge Akane observed.

"Thank you," she gave a slight nod of the head before quietly closing the door.

The young woman sighed once she was by herself, it was a surprisingly eventful day, or rather, night, and she felt would need what rest she could get before the 'initiation'. She put a seal on the door, strong and lasting since she had the chakra to spare at the moment. Next she sat down on the bed and pulled out a small metal flask from one of the many pockets within her kimono. However unlike other containers of its kind it did not contain alcohol, but instead a viscous red fluid. It smelled a but staler than she would have liked but it would suffice she brought the container to her lips and poured the thick metallic fluid into her mouth, letting it slide down her throat until it was empty. She licked her lips being sure not to waste even a miniscule amount before she screwed the lid back on the now worthless container and replaced it in her kimono.

She was a vampire, sort of. It was really more of her clan's technique. Real vampires were pureblooded demons, who once roamed the earth with appearances exactly as that of humans but powers far superior. They would drink from whomever they liked until the victims were vacuum packed skin and bones. However they didn't kill all of their victims, some, those with rare sweet blood, were considered delicacies and the demons only took a little of their blood allowing them to live and recover so they could savor the sweet flavor again. Unfortunately, there were side effects. Humans bitten by the vampires would receive a piece of the demon's energy, it would manifest in the victim's head, driving them insane with bloodlust. These humans would be destroyed by the demon's energy, which would consume the host's blood, unless they too drank human blood. The bloodlusts would send them on rampage, completely taking over their minds, causing them to slaughter hundreds as they were endowed with powers from the vampire's demon energy.

That's when her clan came in, it was its own ninja village, loyal to no land, and with a long lineage that contained the sweetest blood the vampire's had tasted. They reasoned with the demons, if they would leave the rest of the world in peace, the Akumanochi clan would become their personal blood bank, otherwise they would kill themselves and any other sweet bloods (as they were not so originally called). The reason they put forth this offer was due to the fact that they had discovered a way for hosts to contract the sentient demon energy within their minds. A certain amount of any human blood ingested by the host for the demon energy and it would give the host a certain vampiric powers the host could control to assist in the hunt, thus not going insane. This allowed the clan members to employ their ninja skills on assassination missions, which they had already been doing, and collect blood from their victims. The vampires agreed and this agreement worked well for a couple centuries. Other bitten sweet bloods even began to join the clan, hence why her own surname was not that of her clan. The Akumanochi clan grew in power; the vampires enjoyed a constant supply of sweet blood and royal treatment. Eventually, though, the power shifted and the royal treatment shifted to actual royal rule, the clan members were taken advantage of. Though they were ninja, though they had enhanced power, it was nothing compared to that of the vampires. They hadn't known the sweet blood only increased the power of the already powerful, immortal demons and the clan was practically enslaved. But then, a group of the clan members, their names erased from history, found a way to kill the impervious beings. However they weren't strong enough, they killed several of the demons before they themselves were killed, the way to defeat the Vampires was gone but the damage was done. For the first time the creatures felt vulnerable, and though everyone refused knowledge of the method, the Vampires began slaughtering the clan. There were other sweet bloods left in the world, they just needed to hunt them down, so they destroyed the clan to avoid the risk of their weakness being revealed.

Akane alone escaped. How? She was strong, she had several abilities from her demon contract as opposed to the usual one, and the Vampire's favored her blood greatly, it was somehow better than the rest. Sometimes she thought they let her get away, perhaps only to hunt her down for her blood again. Other times she replayed the event and decided it was skill, even more often she decided it was luck.

However, now she decided it was time to sleep, her drooping eyelids, forcing her out of her reverie. She rose reluctantly from the bed and shuffled over the door she hoped was the bathroom, she was right. It was small but not cramped and white like the kitchen. White tile, sink, bathtub, and toilet; it was very bright due to the florescent light in the center of the ceiling. She closed the door and went over to the sink finding, to her delight some toiletries, obviously new and unused. She diligently brushed her straight white teeth; fangs included, and washed her flawless skin, too tired to take a bath. She removed her green contacts, she didn't have the case with her, so she just threw them away, knowing that by revealing her powers as Pein demanded she would have to reveal her lineage, therefore they'd know about her eye color anyway. Her eyes literally glowed back at her, softly though, barely noticeable, but clearly different than the run of the mill eyes. Then she let her hair down and it fell to the middle of her back, slightly curled from being up in buns for so long. She combed it gently 'they even have a comb ready, wonder if they got me clothes too' she mused. When she finished she left the bathroom and went to the wardrobe to confirm her suspicion, they had indeed, but from the larger size and slight wear, it was evident that they were lent. Though much larger than her own size, they were evidently feminine from the colors, mostly shades of purple, and cut. Not to say it was a large woman that owned the clothes, just taller, after all she was rather short and quite thin. Akane sighed, while her height gave her some advantages, it gave her many more disadvantages in her opinion. As she chose a large dark purple tee-shirt to sleep in she tried to remember the sole female member of Akatsuki. She undressed, removing the bindings keeping her chest at bay, her well endowed breasts bust forth, and she sighed with relief, it wasn't comfortable to keep them pressed down like that, but they got in her way and attracted too much attention if she didn't. She slipped the shirt over her body, flipping through the pages of the bingo book in her head. 'Konan' she remembered 'inventor of the paper jutsu.' She also remembered that the woman was indeed tall, 5'9" if she remembered correctly. Akane looked down and saw the shirt fell mid-thigh as her kimono did, 'yep she's definitely tall' another sigh echoed from her as she hung her clothing in the wardrobe. She brought her belt, covered with weapons pouches, with her as she silently crossed the room to her bed, hanging it on the bedpost nearest the nightstand. She noticed alarm clock on the nightstand with simultaneous relief and disgust. She had been wondering how she would get up, but she also wanted the excuse to sleep in, oh well, she thought. Currently the machine, which she suspected would last a day tops, read 6:00am. She set it to 11:00am which would give her thirty minutes to get over her snooze button addiction and thirty more to take the bath she really should have taken tonight. Finally she let her head hit the pillow, swaddling herself in the surprisingly thick comforter, which she was grateful for, she hated being cold.


End file.
